David Newcombe of Cornwallis Farms Ltd. in Port Williams travelled to Africa to help mentor employees at two barns established by the Egg Farmers of Canada in recent years. Part of the experience involved egg deliveries to homes and a local church that feeds children in need. - Contributed

PORT WILLIAMS, N.S. —

The tone of Geneve Newcombe’s voice is surprisingly optimistic as she outlines a harsh reality her farm will face this summer.

“There’s been a 15 per cent reduction in the amount of chicken that’s going to be grown this summer, so we’ll have an empty barn,” she said.

“It’s quite a substantial decrease.”

Cornwallis Farms Ltd. has been in the Newcombe family since 1761, employing 10 generations of descendants.

But the COVID-19 pandemic is unlike any storm the historic operation has weathered before.

“This is new for us,” said Newcombe. “We’re navigating these new waters and trying to adapt to the different challenges as they come up.”

Geneve Newcombe and her youngest son, David Newcombe, hold some eggs collected at Cornwallis Farms Ltd., a Port Williams-based business started by the Newcombe family’s ancestors in 1761. File photo

The Port Williams-based agricultural business includes broiler, layer, dairy and feed mill operations.

Dairy quotas have also been impacted by the pandemic, with Nova Scotia’s producers seeing up to five per cent in cutbacks since April 1.

The demand for eggs has fluctuated throughout the pandemic as restaurant closures result in more consumers cooking at home.

“Eggs are an indispensable staple food item in the diets of Canadians—and our sector has seen an increase in total retail sales of eggs over the last month. At the same time, much like other food producing supply chains, there has also been a drastic collapse in demand for our product from the food service and restaurant sector,” the Egg Farmers of Canada said in a prepared statement.

“Egg farmers and our industry partners have adapted to this shift in demand for eggs by balancing the increasing demand for eggs at stores and food banks, with the decreasing demand from the food service and restaurant sector.”

It’s the decline in chicken production, however, that weighs heaviest on Newcombe’s mind.

“It’s the largest percentage of our business,” she said.

Still, Newcombe is quick to point out there are other farmers dealing in commodities that have taken harder hits at the hands of COVID-19.

“We’re fortunate with the supply management system that there is supply across the country of these products and we are able to respond, whether it’s taking a decrease now or ramping things up in the future … in a fairly timely manner,” she said.

She said the farm has been fortunate to have uninterrupted arrangements with processing facilities that have been able to continue working with their products throughout the pandemic, including fellow Kings County business Eden Valley Poultry Inc. in Berwick.

“Our concerns have been more for that next step, because you’re dealing with plants that have a higher number of employees and more chances of something coming in. We’ve been very impressed with how well Eden Valley Poultry has handled the situation and how they’ve communicated with us as farmers.”

It’s too soon to assign a projected monetary value to the impact of COVID-19 at Cornwallis Farms Ltd., but Newcombe said the farm has been able to continue employing its 10 workers.

“For us, as a farm, it’s been fairly good and business as usual,” she said.

Newcombe is proud to be a food producer at a time when COVID-19 is highlighting the importance of food security in Nova Scotia and beyond.

“We’re feeling OK. We know it will be a tough year, but we’ve had tough years and other things before,” she said.